Sleep is often treated as something we can sacrifice when life gets busy. However, getting enough sleep is crucial for our mental, emotional, and cognitive wellbeing.
It has been studied that the relationship between sleep and mental health is bi-directional. This means that poor sleep can contribute to difficulties with mental health, while experiencing psychological distress can also make it harder to sleep. Over time, this can create a cycle where poor sleep and emotional difficulties reinforce one another.
What happens when we don’t get enough sleep?
Even a single night of insufficient sleep can affect how our brain functions the following day. With only around four hours of sleep, our attention, reaction time, and decision-making can become significantly impaired. These levels of deficit are reported similar to the levels of impairment associated with alcohol intoxication.
Sleep deprivation can also affect how we relate to others. When we are exhausted, we may become less emotionally responsive to others. Our abilities to recognise or respond appropriately to other people’s emotions will also be reduced. In other words, a lack of sleep can affect not only how we think, but also how we connect with the people around us.
Cognitively, insufficient sleep can affect attention, memory, language and speech, as well as visual processing. This may show up in everyday life as difficulty concentrating during a meeting, struggling to find the right words, forgetting information, or taking longer to process what we see and hear.
Research has also highlighted the relationship between sleep difficulties and depression. Persistent sleep problems can be an important indicator of vulnerability to depression, making sleep an area worth paying attention to when looking after our mental health.
Building healthier sleep habits
One of the simplest ways to support better sleep is through sleep hygiene — habits and routines that help prepare the body and mind for rest.
A few practical strategies include:
1. Keep a consistent sleep routine
Try to go to bed and wake up at around the same time each day. A consistent routine helps train the body to recognise when it is time to wind down.
2. Disconnect before bedtime
Where possible, switch off from work, social media and other stimulating activities at least one hour before bed. This gives the mind an opportunity to transition from an active state into a more restful one.
3. Practise relaxation techniques
Simple techniques such as deep breathing, grounding exercises or visual imagery can help reduce mental and physical tension before sleep. The goal is not to force yourself to fall asleep, but to create conditions that allow the body to gradually settle.
4. Pay attention to what your sleep is telling you
An occasional poor night’s sleep is normal. However, if sleep difficulties are persistent longer than 2 weeks, or begin to affect your mood, concentration, relationships or daily functioning, it is worth seeking professional advice rather than simply accepting it as part of a busy lifestyle.
Ultimately, sleep is not a luxury or a reward for finishing everything on our to-do list. It is part of how we maintain our physical and mental wellbeing. Taking care of our sleep is one of the simplest ways we can take care of our brain, our emotions and the way we show up in our daily lives.
Psy. Izzaty Shaima Shamsudin,
Clinical Psychologist,
Alpro Health
